Rooney Mara's surprise reaction

Rooney Mara expected to be treated differently due to her image change for 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'.

The 26-year-old actress portrayed psychologically-damaged Lisbeth Salander, who dresses in a gothic style in the movie, and she had concerns about just how she might be perceived.

She said: "The hair was stuck to my head, the eyebrows remained bleached and the piercings I got that were real obviously stayed in.

"I expected people to treat me much differently but it really didn't happen."

Despite Lisbeth's rebellious style in the film - which sees her trying to exact revenge on her rapist - Rooney "enjoyed" her character's change of look because it meant there were fewer expectations on her shoulders.

She was quoted by the Daily Express newspaper as saying: "The biggest change that I noticed was that when you look slightly off in that way people sort of pay less attention to you and their expectations of you are lowered. I didn't mind that - I actually enjoyed it."

However, Rooney recently admitted that she has become less feminine since playing the role and has since changed her own style.

She explained: "Before I got the part I was definitely more feminine and girlie. I wore a lot of pale shades and I haven't really rediscovered that yet. I've kept with the black and dark colours."